Sealed wrapped package and opener therefor.



J. S. STOKES.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

aomtsroennm s'roxns, or moonnsrowmnnw JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO sroxns &

SMITH COMPANY, OF SUMMEBDALE, PENNSYLVANIA, A- CORPORATIONOF PENN- SYLVANIA.

SEALED WRAPPED PACKAGE AND OPENER THEREFOR.

To all whom it may concern: t A 7 Be it known that I, JoHN .SroeDnLL STOKES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moorestown, in the county of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have 1nvented new and useful Improvements 1n Sealed Wrapped Packages and Openers Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements sealed wrapped packages of merchand1se,suchfor mstance as packages of cakes, crackers, biscuits, cereals, candies, and other commodities which are usually packed in boxes and the latter then inclosed within awrapper whichv seals the box against the entrance of air, moisture and vermin. u

. The principal object of the invention is to provide such packages with an opemng device designed, upon withdrawal thereof --fromthe package, to cut or tear the wrapper sufiiciently to enable the lid or cover flap of the box to be opened, and the presence of which opening device does not in any way affect or prevent the complete sealing function of the wrapper.

I am aware that it is not broadly new, so far as the patented art is concerned, to provide envelops, as well as wrapped packages,

with an opening deviceadapted upon with-.

drawal to tear or cut the envelop ,or wrapper, but in all such packages 'or envelops, so

. far as I am aware,the opening device'has a and-to provide athoroughly and effectively graspingportion that projects through'an opening in the wrapper or envelop. Such proposed devices have therefore never gone into general use because the opening in the wrapper left for the grasping portion of the opening device not only very materially affects the much desired seal ;.but such grasping portions which are usually inthe form of tongues or tabs and which are usually free, areoften accidentally pulled or dislodged in'handling and packing the packagesresulting in the wrapper becoming 'pre maturely tornand the seal further broken.

The aim of the present invention is to obviate the aforesaid and other. objections present in prior proposed wrapped packages sealed wrapped package having an opening device associated therewith which leaves no" Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

Application filed August 9, 1915. Serial No. 44,463.

finger grasping portion lying between a wall of the box or container and the wrapper, said finger grasping portion being accessible only upon rupture of that of the wrapper adjacent thereto.

The invention comprises other more or less important features as will appear upon a reading of the detailed description to follow when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing which is illustrative of one form of the invention and wherein,

. Figure 1, is aperspective view of a complete package made in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2, is an end elevation of such a package, the opening device being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 3, is a perspective view of a package showing the opening device partially withdrawn as in the act of severing the wrapper. Fig. 4:, is a similar view showing thewrapper completely severed, and Fig. 5, is an elevation of one form of severing device detached from the package.

The box or container which contains merchandise may be of any'desired construction.

In the present instance, I have shown a'box or container of common form and which has a movable cover' flap'jlO provided with the (usual flange 12, which, vwhen the box is closed, enters the same and lies parallel with a wall thereof, as for instance, the front wall. The type of box or container herein shown isonly by way of illustration andobviously other forms of boxes or cartons may be employed. y

The box or container is completely enportion v veloped and sealed by means of an inclosing wrapper 13 which incloses all the exterior walls of the-box and which wrapper may be adherently attached to all of the said exterior walls of the box, or the wrapper may,

.when applied .to the box or container, be

adherently attached to the overlapping portions of the wrapper or to some of the Walls of the box and to portions of the wrapper.

'I prefer to employ a wrapper-made from a single blank consisting of a body portion and side and endwings, one of the wings having an integral top covering flap having the same dimensions as the body portion of the blank and which top covering flap preferably overlies the movable cover 10 of the box. Such a wrapper blank is shown and described in the allowed application for patent of Henry G. Schwerdtle, Serial No. 810,421, filed January 5, 1914-,- and is not specifically claimed herein except when employed in association with my improved ar- 1 rangement of opening device now tobe described.

One form of opening device which I prefer to employ is illustrated in detail in Fig. 5 and consists of a strip of cardboard or similar material 14 having downwardly inclined or beveled 'severing edges 15 and a centrally arranged finger grasping portion 16 in the shape of a tab or tongue.

After the box or container has been filled with the commodity to be sold and the cover placed thereon, the opening device is inserted down into the box between the flange 12 and the adjacent wall of the box, or the opening device may if desired simply rest upon a wall of the box. as for instance the front wall with the finger grasping portion extending beyond the wall of the box at right angles to the wall upon which the opening device lies. The wrapper blank '13 is then applied to the box to ompletely cover all the exterior walls thereo he blank being so applied as to completely seal the box and completely inclos'e all portions of the opening device, including the finger grasping portion 16 which, during the covering operation, is folded over upon a wall of the box, preferably the movable wall 10 so that the said finger portion will lie between a wall of the box and a portionof the wrapper blank, no openings of any kind being left in the wrapper. The box or container is therefore completely sealed and effectively excludes air, moisture and vermin.

I prefer to provide the wrapper blank .at

the point where it covers the finger grasping portion- 16 of the opening device with an indicating mark of some kind, preferably a line, as 17', Fig.1, bounding the finger grasping portion 16 to indicate where the fingergra'sping portion lies. Such an indi-.

cating mark is not absolutely essential in all cases, as obviously if the wrapper blank is I made of transparent material, such as'glacine paper, the finger graspingportion 16, may be seen through the wrapper and an indicating mark therefore, in such instances,

is not-necessary.

When it is desired to open the package,

only the portion of the wrapper adjacent the finger grasping portion is broken and the finger grasping portion grasped and withdrawn from the box, the withdrawing oper ation severing the wrapper along the line of the free end of the movable cover 10 of the box, as more clearly illustrated in Fig.

3, whereupon the remaining sealed portions of the wrapper along the edges of the cover member arranged at right angles to the severed portion of the wrapper may be readv ily severed by lifting up the cover member, as shown in Fig. 4.

By employing a wrapper blank having a body portion and integral side and end wings for covering the body ,and side and end walls of the box and an integral top covering flap for covering the top of the box, the box may be readily wrapped and the finger grasping portion 16 turned over flat upon the cover wall of the box simultaneously with the application of the top covering flap 18 of the wrapper blank, since crevices being left for the entrance of air,-

moisture or vermin, and this, I consider, of

prime importance.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the particular form of opening device herein shown and described as other forms of such devices may .be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, the essential feature of which is to provide a sealed wrapped package with an opening device having a grasping portion, the said opening device being .completely inclosed within the wrapper of the package, but a portion of which may be readily grasped for withdrawal purposes to sever the wrapper when desired.

What I claim is:

1. A sealed wrapped package, compris-' ing a box and a wrapper completely enveloping all the exterior walls thereof and sealing the same, and a wrapper-severing device completely inclosedby the said wrapper and having a finger-grasping portion lying between a wall of the boxand the wrapper,

said finger-grasping portion being accessible upon rupture of that portion of the wrapper adjacent the same.

2. A sealed wrapped package, comprising a box and a wrapper completely enveloping all the exterior walls thereof and sealing the same, and a wrapper-severing device completely inclosed by the said wrapper and having a finger-grasping portion lying between a wall of the box and the wrapper,

said finger-grasping portion being accessible my hand in presence of two subscribing witonly upon rupture of that portion of the nesses. wrapper adjacent the same, and the said JOHN STOGDELI STOKES wrapper having a suitable mark indicating r the position of the said finger-grasping Witnesses: portion. GEO. Z. SUTTON,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set CARL E. SCHAEFFER. 

